Method and means for sealing fissures in mine galleries



Feb. 5, 1929. `1,700,952

L. RANN EY METHOD AND MEANS FOR SEALING FISSURES IN` MINE GALLERIESFiled Dec. .'51, k1926 LQWER C'AP Rock 4 u A GALLERY l Lio Rpmvxv/@mounten Fb., 5y 1929o 1970,52

L. RNNY METHO AND MEANS FOR SYEALING FISSURES IN'MINE GALLERIES vSeets-Sheet 2 Filed D. 51

GALLERY x, 4; .`9 i g La@ @Awww @wma/mio@ Patented Feb.' 5, 1929. L lNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEO EANNEY, or NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNOR 'ro STANDARD OIL DEVELOPMENTCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OE DELAWARE.

' MET'HOD AND MEANS FOR SEALING FISSURES IN EINE GALLERIES.

Application led December 31, 1926. Serial No. 158,179.

'lhis invention relates to improvements in mining operations for therecovery of oil,

- and comprises methods and means for sealing the fissures or crackswhich may be encountered in forming mine galleries. In my Copending U.S. application Serial No. 14,448, filed March 10, 1925, and otherapplications, the general oil mining. method referred'to herein-,isdescribed and claimed. The present improvements are intended primarilyfor use as an adjunct to that method, but 'theymay be advantageouslyemployed also for other similar purposes.

As described in Serial No. 14,448, a mine shaft is sunk to a pointadjacent an oilbearingfsand, galleries are driven from the shaft aboveor below the sand, but out of contact with it, mine wells are drilledinto the sand, and the oil flowing from the mine wells is collected.

The. resent invention will be fully understood om the followingdescription, read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in whichFig. 1 is a vertical transverse section through a mine galleryintersecting a fissure, and showing in perspective the inner walls ofthegallery;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary erspectlve view showin the floor of the ga eryand the way in whii the top of the fissure is enlarged for theapplication of a sealing material;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, and showing( means for applying thesealing material; an

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line IVe-IV of Fig. 3. v

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a mine gallery ina lower cap rock 2 underlying an Oil sand 3. It will be assumed, for thepurpose of illustrating the invention, that the gallery has intersecteda fissure or crack 4 which extends into the oil sand. In most casesthere will not be a rapid flow of fluids from such a fissure -into thegallery and itis easy for workmen to seal the fissure in the manner tobedescribed. High gas pressures rarely prevail in oil sands which are tobe exploited by my methwork may be suspended for a while until all othernecessary safety precautions are od. If such pressures are encountered,the

be taken. Entry of gas, oil, orvwater into the gallery should becompletely prevented before the 'collection of oil is begun.

The following procedure is preferably adopted for sealing the fissure.First the rock is cut away along the line of the fissure to form anopening 5 having an inverted wedge shape in cross section. A sealingplate 6, having on its undersurface a thick, soft gasket 7 (e. g. softrubber) ,is pressed upon the rock. of the gallery floor so as to coverthe opening into the ssure. The sealin plate is held in. position byjacks 8, whicii exert sufficient pressure to force the gasket tightlyagainst the rock making a Huid-tight seal. The jacks operate under beams9, held between the jacks and the gallery roof.

When the plate 6 has been secured in posi-4 tion, sealing material isapplied under pressure through a pipe 10 so asy to fill the opening 5,and usually also the upper portion of the fissure 4 itself. If theiissure is very narrow the sealin material will not enter it to asubstantial epth, but in any case the sea'll is securely anchored by the.inwardly projecting ed es of the Opening 5. Large iissures shouldsuitably obstructed to prevent too much sealing material from runninginto them. A plastic Portland cement-water mixture is generallypreferred as the sealing means, but other relatively impervious fluidmaterials, such as hot tar, may be used. The plate 6 is kept in placeuntil the seal has hardened. I

Incase there is a highenough gas ressure to force the sealing materialout of t e Opening 5, at least one pipe 11 is provided to tap the ssureata point considerably below the opening. The pipe 11 is preferably setat an angle, as shown in Fig. 4. As many of these pipes as are rea iredto relieve the pressure' may be provide .Wherethe seal is required tostand considerable pressure, the trough or chamber reamed out at the topof the fissure should be of considerable size.

As soon asthe sealing material has hardenedl in the Opening, a cap 12istted on the pipe so as' toA shut Off access of gasto the gallery.

It will be understood that a similar method is used in sealing thefissures on the walls and roof of the gallery. When all fissures havebeen sealed, the mine wells are drilled and the oil collected.

Various modifications in the preferred embodiments shown may be madewithin the scope of the appended claims, in which it is my intention toclaim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior artpermits.

I claim:

l. In a method of sealing a fissure in a mine gallery, theimprovementwhich comprises pressing a sealing member about the opening of thefissure where it enters the gallery to form a fluid-tight seal betweenthe fissure and the gallery, supplying a sealing material to fill theupper portion ot the fissure, retaining the sealing member in placeuntil the sealing material has hardened,and then removing the sealingmember.

2. In a method of sealing a issure in a mine gallery, the improvementwhich comprises enlarging the fissure to Jform a chamber'- where thefissure enters the gallery, and adapted to receive a substantial amountof a sealing material, pressing a sealing plate about the chamber toform a fluid-tight seal between the chamber and the gallery, Vforcing aplastic sealing material into the chamber and allowing the sealingmaterial to harden.

3. In a method of sealing a issurerom which fluids tend to escape underpressure' 4. Method according to claim 3, in which iuids under pressureare led o from a point in the fissure below the sealing material.

5. An apparatus for sealing the issures in a mine gallery, andcomprising a sealing member, means .for forcing the member intoHuid-tight engagement about the-opening of the fissure into the gallery,andmeans for introducing a sealing material into` the fissure beneaththe member.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the sealing member comprisesa plate carrying on its undersurface a gasket of compressible materialimpervious to fluids.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which a by-pass pipe is providedto tap the issure and lead off fluids under pressure.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aiix mysignature.

